#FREEKESHA

The 29 year old pop star Kesha, best known for her two number-one singles, “Tik Tok” and “We R Who We R”, filed a lawsuit, back in 2014, against her producer, Lukasz Gottwald, also known as Dr. Luke.

In the lawsuit, Kesha accused Dr. Luke of sexually, physically, verbally, and emotionally abusing her from the age of 18, shortly after she signed a contract with his record label Kemosabe Records whose corporate parent is Sony Music.

Pebe Sebert, Kesha’s mother, also told People, that Dr. Luke was also partly responsible for Kesha’s eating disorder, claiming that he pressured her into losing weight. Dr. Luke responded to the lawsuit and the accusations by suing Pebe Sebert, indicting her of creating a campaign to tarnish his name in an attempt to get Kesha out of her contract with Kemosabe Records.

In February, a New York judge denied Kesha her request to break the contract, which requires her to record six more albums with Kemosabe Records.

The release of a photograph taken of the singer breaking down in tears after hearing the judge’s decision, started off the media outburst of the hashtag #FREEKESHA, which many female pop stars including Lorde, Ariana Grande and Kelly Clarkson have got on board with to show their support for Kesha and the British singer Adele took a moment to show her support at the BRIT awards. Taylor Swift even donated $250,000 towards Kesha’s legal fees, as according to TMZ, Kesha claims that Dr. Luke has refused to pay her royalties.

Sony Music remained quiet throughout the duration of the lawsuit, however once the judge ruled against Kesha, Sony’s lawyer, Scott Edelman, spoke to the New York Times stating that “Sony has made it possible for Kesha to record without any connection, involvement or interaction with Luke whatsoever.” Edelman continued to explain that Sony holds no power over the contract as it belongs to Dr. Luke’s company, Kasz Money, but that “Sony is doing everything it can to support the artist in these circumstances.”

There only remains two equally disheartening possible outcomes for the resolution of the lawsuit. Either Kesha and Dr. Luke create a settlement, whereby Kesha leaves Dr. Luke’s Kemosabe Records more than likely by means of a payout, or Kesha and Dr. Luke continue to fight the lawsuit, which may take years to resolve. Neither outcome is appealing for either artists, however the longer the lawsuit continues the more damaging it becomes to both their careers. Dr. Luke’s reputation will continue to diminish and for an artist such as Kesha time is crucial as the longer it takes for her to make a return the more likely it is that her window of fame will have closed.

Editors Note: Update: Rumors are flying that Sony will drop Dr. Luke. A rep for Dr. Luke denies reports that Sony is planning to sever ties with the producer. “Luke has an excellent relationship with Sony,” the producer’s attorney Christine Lepera said in a statement to the Los Angeles Times. “His representatives are in regular contact with executives at the highest levels at Sony and this has never come up.”